What I say unto you I say unto all, watch. Mark 13:37

November 23, 2011

Clinton presses Netanyahu to release frozen Palestinian tax funds

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton phoned Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu Monday night and demanded that he release Palestinian tax
revenue that Israel has frozen for more than a month after UNESCO accepted the
Palestinians as a member.

A senior U.S. official and an Israeli source familiar with
details of the conversation say Clinton called Netanyahu after messages relayed
to him in recent weeks on the tax money were not answered positively.

The Prime Minister’s Office confirmed that Clinton called but
said the subject was new sanctions that the United States would impose on Iran.

Israel holds $100 million in Palestinian Authority tax
revenue collected in October as part of economic agreements between the two
sides. Should the freeze continue through the end of November, the sum will
reach $200 million.

According to the Israeli source, Netanyahu rejected Clinton’s
request, saying he lacks a majority in the cabinet on the issue.

Netanyahu added that no decision will be reached on the
matter until after a meeting on Thursday between Palestinian President Mahmoud
Abbas and Damascus-based Hamas leader Khaled Mashal. The two Palestinians are
scheduled to talk about the possible formation of a national unity government.

Clinton’s phone call to Netanyahu also comes against the
backdrop of urgent requests by Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad to the
U.S. government. Fayyad says that without the tax money he cannot pay the wages
of PA officials, including security workers.

Also on Monday night, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon
called Netanyahu and demanded that the tax revenue be released to the
Palestinians immediately. Ban Ki-Moon noted that Israel is required to transfer
the money to the Palestinians under the terms of the agreements between the two
sides and added that tensions need to be eased so that peace negotiations can be
resumed.

Upset by reports that the PA plans to spend funds to provide
housing for prisoners released by Israel as part of the exchange to free former
IDF soldier Gilad Shalit, two U.S. congressmen, Steve Israel (D – NY) and Ted
Deutch (D – FL), are demanding an inquiry into Palestinian Authority funding
allocation.

“The United States does not provide economic support funds to
the Palestinian Authority to build new homes for terrorists or fund President
Abbas’ anti-Israel campaign trips through Europe,” said Deutch.

“The American people do not want their taxpayer dollars
funding any activity that runs counter to the security of our nation or our ally
Israel. We have a responsibility to ensure the Palestinian Authority is abiding
by U.S. law with total transparency,” Deutch said.

Also, at the end of last week, the U.S. national security
adviser, Tom Donilon, phoned his Israeli counterpart Yaakov Amidror. They spoke
mainly about the coordination of sanction efforts against Iran, after the
International Atomic Energy Agency said this month that the data suggested that
Iran was working to be able to build a nuclear weapon.

But Donilon also told Amidror that the United States expected
Israel to transfer the tax revenue to the PA immediately.

On Monday morning, Netanyahu met with Deputy Secretary of
State William Burns, who also demanded that Israel unfreeze the Palestinian tax
money. The night before the meeting, Netanyahu held a third discussion on the
subject, this time with the forum of eight senior ministers. The ministers
decided to continue with the freeze.

Around 11 P.M. Monday night, the Prime Minister’s Office
released its laconic statement on the Netanyahu-Clinton discussion, saying the
topic was Iran. †